Violator 192 15th Street: Stop Work Order Rescinded Excavation Backfilled

Archival, back in day before the shovel hit the soil. 

 Received an anonymous tip informing us that the new building going up at 192 15th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues was slammed with a Stop Work Order Violation by the Department of Buildings back on the 14th of April.  According to the complaint, a full Stop Work order was served after the next door neighbor reported to 311 that workers had drilled holes into their property.  Upon inspection,  the DOB found an 8x10x15 foot hole had been dug with a backhoe, apparently in order to begin underpinning the adjacent home's foundation.  Inspectors reported no protective sheeting or shoring had been installed prior to the dig.  The stop work order was lifted on April 28th after the hole was back filled to grade.  Permitted contractors MUST notify the Building Department at least 24-48 hours prior to the start of any earthwork.  The Department also conducts random on-site audits of excavation work to be sure that work is being performed safely according to approved plans.  See this link (PDF)

192 15th Street 

Hole-B-Gone

I guess this is where I mention that this new 4 story residential building is being developed by Mark Zeldin, who has erected a considerable amount of buildings in the South Slope.  He should have at least learned by now of the many hazardous pitfalls that lurk beneath Brooklyn's unpredictable, water slogged sandy glacial till that comprises most of the S Slope.  Expeditious cost-cutting seldom pays off.  Neighbors get pissed.  Inspectors are summoned.

One thing I have noticed recently is that there is now a significant delay between the issuing of Environmental Control Board  violations and the time it takes for them to actually show up on the DoB BIS web site.  Not sure what that's about… ?  

 

Embellished: Standing Seam Copper Siding

In My Back Yard  396 15th Street has plated itself in sheets of copper.   In the evening as the clouds are singed pink 
by the setting sun  the last light of the day catches the building on fire.

If one were so inclined, the rooftop copper might be equally stunning during a 6am workout if viewed from the YMCA treadmill directly across the street. 

Wood Frame Restoration: The Bracketed Porch

New money revitalizes the South Slope.     297 15th Street's freshly bracketed porch and crisply painted facade shine.  This ornamented South Slope wood frame restoration is brought to you by the Brooklyn architectural firm Ellis + Donnelly Studio and builder/general contractor,  B.O.S.S. Associates, Inc.

For so many years these wooden homes have been stripped bare of their crowning jewels by homeowners promised cheap maintenance free solutions against the ravages of time by fast talking tin men and faux-stone stucco-teers. 
I get a lot of emails asking if I know someone with the skills and talent to perform a historic style full face lift.  This team seems more than capable.